The wild lightening that suspended so many games Friday and forced them to be played Saturday also made a little history.

Medina and Hudson had played three quarters of their game at the Explorers' Dante Lavelli Field when the bolts from the sky stopped it. Not only would the game be delayed until the next day, but it would be moved to a different location - Medina's home field, Kenneth Dukes Stadium.

What a week for Highland’s Aaron Maslowski. The senior was a able to be a one-man wrecking crew during Highland’s 34-7 win over Rocky River. That isn’t to say the rest of the hornets didn’t perform, Maslowski just had his hand in everything.

He carried the ball 22 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He caught three passes for 37 yards on offense and added three interceptions on defense. One he returned 43 yards for a score.

Before the Archbishop Hoban/Garfield game Thursday at Hoban, I ran into St. Vincent-St. Mary football coach Dan Boarman in the stands. We chatted for a while and he said his team was ready for its home-opener against Columbus Bishop Watterson tonight.

Boarman also said he was happy with a recent extended practice/scrimmage with perennial Division I power Lakewood St. Edward. Boarman said both teams benefitted from the session because coaches were able to do a little more instructing during the scrimmage then they normally would during a regular scrimmage.

No matter what happens during the Ellet Orangemen's season this year, head coach Joe Yost knows he has a quality leader in senior Devin Richardson. What Yost likes the most about Richardson is how hard the young man works.

``He's such a great guy, he has a great personality, he's always smiling and he just loves playing football,'' Yost said of the running back and middle linebacker. ``When he's running the ball in practice, he always runs 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. The positions he's playing means he's the heart and soul of our team and we're asking a lot of him. The kids respect him, the coaches respect him and opponents respect him. That's saying a lot.''

You could hear the disappointment in Archbishop Hoban football coach Ralph Orsini's voice. Recently, the veteran coach watched all preseason long how hard senior nose tackle Joe Zazo busted his butt to earn a starting spot. Zazo was a model player, teammate and senior leader.

But during one of the last practices of preseason, when practice was almost over, Zazo suffered a season-ending knee injury.

``It's sad,'' Orsini said, in a soft, somber tone. You could tell Orsini was one of Zazo's biggest fans. ``He was working really hard.''

Orsini also said sophomore sensation and defensive end Greg McMullen will miss the first game of the season Thursday at home against Garfield. McMullen had surgery on his wrist earlier in the summer and he's slowly healing. Orsini said he was hoping to have McMullen back for Week 2, but, ``We'll see what happens,'' he said.

It seems that every year for the last several years, Buchtel travels down to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to face the Massillon Tigers. This year is no exception as the Griffins open the season Thursday against Massillon.

Firestone coach Tim Flossie has been around the sport a long time and he feels refreshed with his group this year. A year ago, the Falcons were winless and things can only get better this year, and that's what Flossie expects. He said this year's team has the right attitude.

``We have a lot of young guys but they love to play the game and they just don't know any better,'' Flossie joked.

Firestone has veteran defensive players James Ray and Travis Daniels leading the way. Flossie said he has been impressed with his wide receivers (Jeremy Mingo, Connor Mathis and Damon Antoine.)

Seniors Chase Hoobler and Sam Miller lead a group of 17 seniors that give Orrville an experienced team that is ready to challenge for an Ohio Cardinal Conference title and a deep run in the state playoffs.

Red Riders coach Doug Davault is relying on Hoobler, a tight end/linebacker, and Miller, a flanker/free safety to provide production and leadership.

Field has an experienced team fresh off of consecutive state playoff appearances, the first two postseason trips in the history of the school’s football program.

The Falcons return eight starters on offense and nine on defense. Field coach Patrick Youel is excited about what senior Jay Lugo can accomplish rushing behind an offensive line that features juniors Nate Stasik and Jim Cercek and seniors Justin Fleming and Josh Nagy.

Ravenna returns six starters on each side of the ball, and Ravens coach Jim Lunardi is pleased with the speed the team possesses.

Lunardi said quarterbacks, senior Zach Thomas and junior Josh Chechak, will be on the field together a lot. Thomas is more of a runner and will also play some at receiver. Chechak is more of a pocket passer and will also play some at tight end.

"Obviously the goal is to just get the monkey off our back," Indians first-year coach Brent Besancon said. "That is a quote I am using with the team. We want to change the mindset and get them playing with confidence."

Neal Kopp enters his first season as Coventry's coach with just six total returning starters.

"The biggest thing we are trying to change is the overall culture of the program and the philosophy of the program," Kopp said. "I am excited that our kids have shown the willingness to be disciplined."

Barberton football coach Brian Staats is pleased with the way his team developed throughout its scrimmages and off season work. Some of their biggest questions have been answered he said.

Offensively those questions revolved around the play of the offensive line. Junior Josh Perrin and center Nate Smith stepped up during the scrimmages. Perrin “has done a really good job of almost becoming the anchor of the line,” Staats said.

Like the majority of the high school teams in the area, Revere coach Terry Cistone isn’t completely sure how good, or bad, his team will be this season. Everyone has holes and weaknesses and only the games will show if they have fixed them or not he said.

“You are going into that first week trying to figure out what you are all about,’’ Cistone said. Everyone has holes and “You are going into that first week and you just don’t know if you filled them yet.”

Green's season opener at Lake is already expected to be a tough task for the Bulldogs, but the injury bug isn’t helping matters either.

Ten players missed last week’s final scrimmage against New Philadelphia due to injury. None of the injuries are too serious and coach Tom Stacy expects half of the players to be back for Friday’s game. For a team that has just 60 on its roster though, any injury can be devastating.

Tuslaw senior TE/DE Jarrod Combs (6-2, 215) is a player to watch, according to a season preview of the Tuslaw football team published by JJHuddle.com's Ohio High Magazine.

"Jarrod is a solid kid," Tuslaw coach Nate Held told the Web site. "He's been a three-year starter on the defensive side of the ball and we can move him around and line him up in a variety of ways. Also, he's got a good set of hands and does a real good job blocking up front so we hope he can lead our offensive line and really be a force up there."

University of Akron athletic director Hunter Yurachek reportedly tells Crain's Cleveland Business that Akron plans to bid next spring on the OHSAA state football finals.

"That's a way to bring even more high school students onto campus," Yurachek reportedly told the publication. "Our campus has transformed itself, and this is a recruiting tool for student-athletes and the general student body."

The Massillon football team return seven starters on offense and five on defense, according to JJHuddle.com's Ohio High Magazine.

"Our kids had a great offseason," Massillon coach Jason Hall told the Web site. "If our kids can reach their potential, I think we can have a very successful season. Our junior and senior classes are a very tight-knit group. We are having fun coaching them and they are responding by bringing it every day."

The idea of a super or mega conference was first concocted five years ago, football being the driving force. The idea was to bring together two of the top conferences, the Pioneer and Western Reserve, along with two schools from the Lake Erie League, Lakewood and Garfield Heights to form the 18-team Northeast Ohio Conference. The NOC would have three divisions, each with six teams. Play would begin in the 2007-08 school year.

Orrville junior WR-DB Sam Miller (6-0, 183) has offers from Louisville, Toledo and Western Michigan and is still garnering interest from others as the season approaches.

"I haven't had any other offers yet but a few schools like Boston College, Indiana and Ball State are very interested and want to see how I do my senior season," Miller wrote in an e-mail earlier this morning.

Ravenna has made two consecutive postseason appearances and it seems the Ravens could be in the hunt for another trip this fall.

"We have a really good junior class of kids that really helped us out playing as a sophomores last year," Ravenna coach Jim Lunardi tells Ohio High Magazine. "Last year, we really weren't sure if we were going to make it back to the playoffs - we were hoping to obviously - but that sophomore class really helped bridge that gap."

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association held its regularly scheduled August Board of Directors meeting last Thursday in Columbus. The following are highlights of action taken by the Board. Complete minutes will be posted at ohsaa.org later in August.

Louisville senior WR Bobby Swigert is still considering his options when it comes to his recruiting journey, Louisville coach Paul Farrah said in an e-mail today.

Swigert (6-1, 175) is one of the state's best college prospects in the 2010 class. He has offers from Stanford, Boston College, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Cincinnati, Indiana and several MAC schools.